Parliamentary questions
Ross Finnie
558 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 May 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fully assess the likely carbon balance of future works required to deliver carbon capture and storage, including on-site works, transportation and long-term storage, when assessing applications for new thermal generating plant and whether it will provide an explanation for…
Answer · Jim Mather: As stated in the answer to question S3W-28764 on 9 November 2009, any new coal-fired station in Scotland would need to demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 megawatts of its net capacity from day one of operation and to retro-fit for those …
26 May 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fully assess the likely environmental effects of future works required to deliver carbon capture and storage, including on-site works, transportation and long-term storage, when assessing applications for new thermal generating plant and whether it will provide an explanat…
Answer · Jim Mather: <i >Our Thermal Guidance</i> published on 10 March 2010, details how Scottish ministers will determine thermal power station applications under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. This guidance explains the various planning, environmental and health and s…
26 May 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fully assess the technical feasibility of future works required to deliver carbon capture and storage, including on-site works, transportation and long-term storage, when assessing applications for new thermal generating plant and whether it will provide an explanation for…
Answer · Jim Mather: The position of the Scottish Government on new thermal power stations was stated in the previous answer to question S3W-28764 on 9 November 2009.</p> <p >Any new thermal power station application will be subject to statutory consultation under section 36 of…
26 May 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a formal requirement for developers to carry out a pre-application consultation with communities when a national development is consented through a regulatory system that does not require planning permission and, if not, what action it takes to ensure communities do not m…
Answer · John Swinney: The statutory requirements for pre-application consultation with communities as set out in planning legislation do not apply across alternative consent regimes. The main alternative consent regimes are listed below with an outline of their public consultation…
26 May 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to make a decision on the application for a new coal-fired power plant at Hunterston.
Answer · Jim Mather: Due to the size and complexity of large-scale s36 applications it is difficult to accurately predict processing timescales however, Scottish ministers have set an aspirational target to determine any new application submitted under s36 of the Electricity Act …
13 May 2010 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its projected monetary saving will be on the Scottish budget for the four years to 2010-11 and its targeted 2% annual saving over the next three years.
Answer · John Swinney: In 2007-08, the Scottish public sector delivered £1,316 million cash-releasing efficiency savings and a further £839 million in 2008-09. The November 2009 Efficiency Delivery Plan identified potential savings of £1,111 million in 2009-10 and £1,609 million in…
31 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients who receive renal replacement therapy have access to a dialysis unit within 30 minutes of their home, considered as desirable by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. </p> <p >NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) published Clinical Standards for Adult Renal Services in February 2002. Standard 13 deals with transportation for haemodialysis, and contains a desirable, as…
31 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many renal dialysis satellite units there are in each NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: There are now 10 adult and one paediatric renal units in Scotland, complemented by 22 satellite dialysis units. The renal units and associated satellite units are listed in the following table by NHS board area:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding…
31 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) adults were receiving hospital dialysis in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The figures in the following table show the numbers of adults and children receiving hospital dialysis in each NHS board at the end of December from 2005 to 2009.* </p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap rowspan=2 …
31 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adults and (b) children were receiving home dialysis in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The figures in the following table show the numbers of adults and children receiving home dialysis in each NHS board at the end of December from 2005 to 2009.*</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=186 nowrap rowsp…
18 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many entry level places for the graduate diploma in audiology course at Queen Margaret University will be available in the next academic year.
Answer · Shona Robison: There will be no further intake of Graduate Diploma in Audiology students at Queen Margaret University (QMU).</p> <p >QMU are in the process of validating a pre-registration Post graduate Diploma/MSc in Audiology which is intended to replace the Graduate Dip…
18 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students have entered the graduate diploma in audiology course at Queen Margaret University in each year since 2005.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26843 on 9 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…
18 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many entry level places for the BSc honours in audiology course at Queen Margaret University will be available in the next academic year.
Answer · Shona Robison: There will be no intake of BSc Audiology students at Queen Margaret University in the next academic year.</p> <p >The last intake of BSc Audiology students entered Queen Margaret University in September of 2009. It was always the case that there would be no …
18 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many students have entered the BSc honours in audiology course at Queen Margaret University in each year since 2005.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26844 on 9 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the recent 30th birthday baby report by Bliss, what action will be taken to address the pressures on neonatal units that can result in the closure of units to new admissions.
Answer · Shona Robison: Work to develop Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) for neonatal services is underway and funding and support are being provided to the three regional planning directors to assist this process. In addition, an expert advisory group is being set up to co-ordinate…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies were transferred by (a) the Scottish Neonatal Transport Service and (b) air ambulance in each of the last five years in order to receive neonatal care.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following tables set out Scottish Neonatal Transport Activity, by region, from 2003-04 to 2008-09.</p> <p >Scottish Neonatal Transport Activity </p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=75 valign=top > <p ali…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many newborn infants were transferred to an NHS facility other than the one planned for the birth in order to receive neonatal care in each month in 2009.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information Services Division has advised that it is not possible to identify which hospital had been planned for the birth from data they hold. Individual NHS boards may record this information on an individual basis.</p>
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) nurses and (b) doctors specialise in neonatal care, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information as requested is not held centrally. Information on staff in post in NHSScotland is published annually by National Services Scotland, as part of the workforce census as at 30 September each year and does include clinical nurse specialties and d…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average occupancy rate was for each specialist neonatal unit in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on bed occupancy rates in neonatal units for each NHS board in the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2009 is shown in the following table.</p> <p >NHSScotland - Average Bed Occupancy in Neonatal Units; by NHS Board: Years Ending 31 March 2007-09</p> …
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many neonatal beds there are in each NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The most recent information collected by Information Services Division on the number of neonatal cot spaces for each NHS board is as follows:</p> <p >NHSScotland - Average Available Staffed Beds in Neonatal Units; by NHS Board: Year Ending 31 March 2009<sup…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies required neonatal care in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Data for calendar years 2005-07, the latest three complete years, and provisional data for 2008 are shown in the following table:</p> <p >Table 1: Number of Babies Discharged from Neonatal Units<sup>1</sup> by NHS Board of Treatment. Year Ending 31 December …
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what waiting time target applies to patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who have seen a consultant and begun a course of drug treatment yet need to attend follow-up appointments with a consultant in order to measure response to drug treatment and disease activity.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32207 on 15 March 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what waiting time target applies to patients who have seen a consultant and begun treatment yet need to attend follow-up appointments with their consultant throughout the course of treatment in order to measure response to drug treatment and disease activity.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There are no targets in relation to follow-up appointments to assess patients response to drug treatment and disease activity. We expect that clinician will keep patients fully informed of their care and the frequency of any follow-up care to monitor their il…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve access to multidisciplinary healthcare teams for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, particularly at times of urgent need.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We expect clinicians who provide services for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to follow the recommendations in Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 48, published in 2000, on the management of early RA. It highlights the benefits …
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist rheumatology nurses there are in each NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on staff in post in NHSScotland is published annually by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, as part of the workforce census as at 30 September each year. Data for clinical nurse specialists by specialty, NHS …
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children aged 16 and under were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The exact number of patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland is not available centrally. However, national estimates can be given of the number of patients consulting a GP or practice-employed nurse for this condition, based on i…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients aged under 30 were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The exact number of patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland is not available centrally. However, national estimates can be given of the number of patients consulting a GP or practice-employed nurse for this condition, based on i…
5 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The exact number of patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland is not available centrally. However, national estimates can be given of the number of patients consulting a GP or practice-employed nurse for this condition, based on i…
12 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with Scottish Enterprise regarding the application of the habitats regulations to the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise are in ongoing discussion on a suitable approach to any assessment which may be required under the habitats regulations.</p>
12 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the habitats regulations apply to the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan and, if so, what consideration was given to the implications of the plan on Natura 2000 sites.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government will be working with Scottish Enterprise who will be undertaking the necessary environmental assessment work including screening, to identify the need for an appropriate assessment of the developing National Renewables Infrastructure P…